I don't think that's how you (successfully) pander to fetishists, though.

The OreImo ending kind of actually did this...and everybody hated it.

But I feel like a lot of people care more for the "imouto character" archetype than they do for actual little sisters. Like the Imouto Sae Ireba ii MC doesn't even have a little sister (as far as we know, at this point), blood-related or otherwise. He's just obsessed with imouto characters...hell, I know real people like that...

I don't think that's how you (successfully) pander to fetishists, though.

The OreImo ending kind of actually did this...and everybody hated it.

But I feel like a lot of people care more for the "imouto character" archetype than they do for actual little sisters. Like the Imouto Sae Ireba ii MC doesn't even have a little sister (as far as we know, at this point), blood-related or otherwise. He's just obsessed with imouto characters...hell, I know real people like that...

Oriemo had the double whammy of going the full incest route and taking a direct dump on the rest of the likable harem. edit: A lot of the backlash came from the way Kuroneko and Manami were treated.

So I gave Dies irae episode 0 a shot...wow, that was complete shit. I seriously can't think of a single good thing to say about it. Maybe it makes more sense if you're familiar with the source material (I'm not), but on it's own we just have a bunch of poorly animated, totally unrelatable characters soliloquizing about chuuni-esque bullshit in between shitty fight scenes that are like 90% just two characters glaring at each other. Seriously, camera shot of character A glaring, switch to character B glaring, switch back to character A glaring, etc. etc. The whole thing was somehow simultaneously an incomprehensible mess while also being riddled with cliches.

It also doesn't help that I'm really not comfortable with the whole magical Nazis theme...seriously, Reinhard Heydrich was one of the principle architects of the holocaust and now he's the main character? Really? Why...

Wasn't this supposed to one of the big name shows this season? I don't normally bitch about things like animation but it was honestly distractingly bad here. Way too cheap tricks being used, it feels like a low-budget show from the 90s.

I know it's just episode 0 but if it wasn't for the hype behind this show I would be dropping it already. Hell if it wasn't for the hype I don't even know if I would have been able to make it through the whole episode. Is this anything like the VN? Does it get better? Because right now I am completely baffled trying to understand what people even see in it...

It also doesn't help that I'm really not comfortable with the whole magical Nazis theme...seriously, Reinhard Heydrich was one of the principle architects of the holocaust and now he's the main character? Really? Why...

No. No he is not. You probably won't see him again for several more episodes (minus technicalities and flashbacks). When he does show up again, he'll be referenced as the Beast (as in Beast of the Apocalypse) fairly frequently.

Is this anything like the VN? Does it get better? Because right now I am completely baffled trying to understand what people even see in it...

Well if the episode is what I think it is, episode 0 is technically only part of the VN in the final release of the game as it is an adaptation of a side story, and honestly them starting with this is making me scratch my head as there is a lot of stuff going on there...and it potentially could spoil some later reveals (again haven't seen it yet so I might be wrong there).

So I gave Dies irae episode 0 a shot...wow, that was complete shit. I seriously can't think of a single good thing to say about it. Maybe it makes more sense if you're familiar with the source material (I'm not), but on it's own we just have a bunch of poorly animated, totally unrelatable characters soliloquizing about chuuni-esque bullshit in between shitty fight scenes that are like 90% just two characters glaring at each other. Seriously, camera shot of character A glaring, switch to character B glaring, switch back to character A glaring, etc. etc. The whole thing was somehow simultaneously an incomprehensible mess while also being riddled with cliches.

It also doesn't help that I'm really not comfortable with the whole magical Nazis theme...seriously, Reinhard Heydrich was one of the principle architects of the holocaust and now he's the main character? Really? Why...

Wasn't this supposed to one of the big name shows this season? I don't normally bitch about things like animation but it was honestly distractingly bad here. Way too cheap tricks being used, it feels like a low-budget show from the 90s.

I know it's just episode 0 but if it wasn't for the hype behind this show I would be dropping it already. Hell if it wasn't for the hype I don't even know if I would have been able to make it through the whole episode. Is this anything like the VN? Does it get better? Because right now I am completely baffled trying to understand what people even see in it...

I'll have to view it later to actually comment on it, but it seems like its going to be just like I feared. Light the company the made the VN is not some juggernaut like Type moon or Key, and needed A kickstarter to fund a chunk of the anime project. I expected the animation to very suspect in certain areas but was hoping they would step it up a bit in at least in some fights. The minute I saw this was going to be a 12 episode anime I knew it was 80% likely to be a train wreck. You could easily get a series worth of episodes just out of the common route and the prologue backstories that sets up the story. Reinhard is one the main antagonist of the series along with Karl Kraft. It sounds like they are doing an origin setup Dies Irae 1940s WW2, and then are going to bring the story up to modern day Japan. Just making blind assumptions, but it seems like they are already failing miserably.

Text dump incoming! I had yesterday off, so besides finishing up a couple series, I also ran an initial sweep over the new lineup (as available on Crunchyroll). Series I like (for the moment) are coded in blue, ones I particularly disliked in red.-------------From backlog:

Spice & Wolf (finished): I was going to unsubscribe from Funimation after watching this; everything else in my queue has already appeared on Crunchyroll. But you know? I think I want to watch this again. I'll save my review until after the second pass.

Deadman Wonderland (finished): I loved the premise: A student is convicted of a crime he didn't commit, and is sentenced to incarceration in a prison theme-park, where inmates are employed in life-threatening tourist attractions. But, although the series as a whole was entertaining enough, the characterization and plot weren't strong enough to make this recommendable. Maybe you could watch this if you're feeling gore-deprived between seasons of Attack on Titan.-----------------------------From last season:

Gamers! (season 1 finished): I thought the Love Polygon schtick was somewhat overused by the second half, but this series is still a lot of fun. I'm shipping Amano and Hoshinomori. desu desu

Classroom of the Elite (season 1 finished): I liked the series that this almost was, but I wanted 10% less fanservice, and 15% more political backstabbing.

My Hero Academia (season finished): This series is awesome on every level.

Dragon Ball Super (continuing): What will happen when Goku runs out of colors to turn into? Stay tuned!-----------------------------Initial impressions from the new season:

Black Clover (1-episode drop): Asta (Naruto) wants to become the Wizard King (Hokage) but he has no magic powers (ninjutsu), while his friend Yuno (Sasuke) is a natural prodigy. Plagiarism, much? Still, there is some originality here: Asta is more irritating than Naruto ever was.

Sengoku Night Blood (2-minute drop): After one minute, I guessed that this was based on an otome game. I was going to give it a chance anyway, but then saw "Idea Factory" in the production credits.

Juni taisen: Zodiac War (continuing): This started out okay. I'll give it a couple episodes.

Love is Like a Cocktail (1-episode drop): Not to my taste.

Food Wars (continuing into third season): I'll take a double order.

Urahara (8-minute drop): I know they were aiming for a unique style, but the wonky perspective in the backgrounds gave me a headache, and those first eight minutes were boring.

Konohana Kitan (continuing): Slice-of-life shows are hit-or-miss with me, but this is starting out cute enough, and hasn't raised any red flags yet.

Tsukipro: The Animation (4-minute drop): Boy-band anime.

Rainy Cocoa (1-episode drop): Meh.

King's Game (1-episode drop): A horror series needs a good lead-in, and a gradual build-up of tension. Abruptly jumping into the drama--manufactured drama, in this case--is a rookie mistake. If I don't care about the characters, it isn't going to matter to me when they get splattered all over the landscape.

Recovery of an MMO Junkie (continuing): When she walked into her apartment, and said "tadaima" to an empty room, I felt a twinge.

Dies Irae (1-episode drop): ...I have no idea what that was supposed to be. Perhaps playing the VN is a prerequisite to understanding this, because it felt like I had dropped in on the middle of a long-running series.

Vanishing Line (continuing?): Hmm. We'll see.

Code: Realize ~Guardian of Rebirth~ (1-episode drop): I only watch reverse-harem series when I like the protagonist, and this particular tragic heroine was too Mary Sue for my liking.

Twocar (continuing): ...sidecar racing? Sure, I'll give it a try.

Blend-S (continuing?): I thought I was going to hate this, but then I started laughing. I doubt I'll stick with it, but it might be okay for a bit.

Anime-Gataris (1-episode drop): This is a show about an anime club. It didn't start out too bad, but in the preview, they ask the viewer not to drop the series after the first episode. So naturally I dropped it. I'm contrary that way.

A Sister's All You Need (4-minute drop): Four minutes was too much, and now I can't unwatch it. Eww.

Dies Irae episode zero: I was expecting much worse. Pretty much speeds through the Die Morgendammerung side story. I Can see someone not acquainted with the source material being lost easily. edit: I outright do not like way the handled Reinhard's transformation and just skipped over the fall out. This really needed another episode.

Yet another edit: I am wondering where they are going with next episode as they did not explain any of the sorcerery that caused them to become super powered Nazi's and why a time skip must occur, just bam here are the super powerered Nazi ! context? who needs that. If you are an anime only person I can't see you getting much out this at all.